Brave women aligned to Indian ethos and nationalistic thoughts have been systematically subjected to trolling and abuses on social media platforms by pseudo seculars.
Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani had faced such abuses when she assumed office of HRD Minister in May 2014. When Irani moved from HRD Ministry to Textile Ministry, she again became the target of sexist and crash attacks on social media.
In 2015, Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon was abused on Twitter for speaking against Aamir Khan’s intolerance remarks. In 2016, writer Shefali Vaidya wrote how she had been abused on social media for airing her views on nationalism. Vaidya had even received messages threatening that her daughter would be murdered and mutilated.
Similarly, Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasrin was subjected to several abuses on social media by Islamists and pseudo-seculars for speaking her heart out.
The latest right-wing victim of social media abuse is BJP leader Shazia Ilmi. Ahead of the MCD elections in Delhi, Ilmi was abused and trolled on Twitter and Facebook by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters.
Delhi police on 21 April filed a FIR against some members and supporters of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for hurling abuses and sexual innuendos at Shazia Ilmi following a complaint registered by the BJP leader at Delhi’s Mandir Marg police station on 18 April.
Ilmi was trolled following her video statement on Twitter on 17 April, where she had attacked the Arvind Kejriwal government over the involvement of sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar in a sex tape last year. Following a huge uproar, after the video surfaced on social media, Kejriwal had to remove Kumar from the party.
AK should clean the Kachhra (Sandeep Kumar etc) within his own filthy ranks before attempting to clean Delhi.Lewd allegations will not help!
— shazia ilmi (@shaziailmi) April 17, 2017
#केजरीवाल_शर्म_करो पहले अपने पहले अपने घर के कचरे को तो साफ करो(संदीप कुमार)। दिल्ली बाद में साफ करना। pic.twitter.com/zejfM9OfCb
— shazia ilmi (@shaziailmi) April 17, 2017
There are eight Twitter users, who belong to AAP and are its supporters, against whom the FIR has been filed. Naresh Kumar, a facebook user named in the FIR is reportedly the convener of AAP’s Uttar Pradesh unit. Another user named in the FIR, @aartic02 is followed by the many AAP office bearers, media persons and even the official social media account of Aam Aadmi Party. Meanwhile, Ilmi has tweeted:
FIR Against Obscenity by ‘AAP’ ! Will not tolerate any more filth from AAP supporters ! Enough is enough! Respect women! pic.twitter.com/mwUYjAfYuf
— shazia ilmi (@shaziailmi) April 21, 2017
The Delhi BJP spokesperson recently told a private television channel that she had left AAP because she felt harassed there. “Kumar Biswas wrote a nasty tweet the day I left AAP. This is the mentality of the party,” she said. Lutyens media allege that online abuses are stemming from right-wing social media users. But the facts say otherwise.
